David Hamilton always had the speed.
But in 204 games with the Boston Red Sox from 2023-25, he managed only three bunt hits.
“They definitely talked about it. I just wasn’t comfortable doing it,” Hamilton said. “I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t getting at-bats all the time. Trying to run before I bunted the ball. I don’t think it was anything on Boston’s part; I just kind of didn’t focus on it enough.”
That changed when Hamilton came over to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Once on board, it was quickly explained to the left-handed-hitting infielder by president of baseball operations Matt Arnold and manager Pat Murphy that his legs were going to be his meal ticket. Dropping down bunts, they believed, could help make him a unique offensive weapon at the bottom of the lineup.
Almost a third of the way through the season, Hamilton has proven to be a quick study.
While his .220 batting average and .308 on-base percentage aren’t wowing anyone, his nine bunt hits lead the major leagues by a wide margin. And the mere threat of Hamilton potentially laying one down keeps opposing defenses on their collective toes despite an overall batting profile that won’t scare anybody.
“Yeah, I’m having success with it right now. Definitely want that to be part of my game,” he said. “There’s a lot of positives that could come out of it.”
The Brewers drafted Hamilton out of the University of Texas in the eighth round in 2019 hoping he could develop into a game breaker because of his speed. Little did they know it would take eight seasons and a trade before Hamilton would be doing it in a Milwaukee uniform.
In the lineup most days and flip-flopping between third base and shortstop, Hamilton has generated just about one-third of his total hits this season by squaring around, deadening the ball as best as he can and using his elite home-to-first burst.
His average time of 4.01 seconds in that 90 feet is second-fastest in the game behind only Chandler Simpson’s 3.98, while his overall sprint speed of 29.4 feet per second ranks 21st in MLB and second on the Brewers behind Garrett Mitchell’s 29.6.
And once on base, Hamilton is a threat to steal, with his 10 in 13 tries so far tops on the team.
“A guy like David Hamilton can turn one hit into a double, maybe even a triple, just with the ability to steal bases,” said first base coach Spencer Allen, who is also the Brewers’ bunting guru.
Outfielder Brandon Lockridge, currently on the injured list, is tied for sixth in the majors with four bunt hits with his top-30 sprint speed giving the Brewers another weapon when he’s healthy.
The widely held assumption is that bunting is a skill most hitters possess.
That assumption would be patently wrong, however, especially in today’s slug-happy game where a premium is put on damage. In Hamilton’s case he estimates he drops down maybe 10 a day, usually at the start of his rounds in batting practice, with his precision improving over time.
“Honestly, I could not tell you how I’m having this success,” he said. “I feel like I’m doing the same thing [as in Boston], but obviously I’m not. I’ve just got to see the ball down first. That’s the main thing. I don’t feel like I’m really doing anything different. I may work on it a touch more, but it’s not anything significant.
“I definitely practice it, work on it.”
Looking at the spray chart of Hamilton’s hits, it’s interesting to note that the majority of his bunt hits – his 13 infield hits overall rank second to Simpson’s 20 – are to the left side. With his speed, if he can figure out a way to start pulling bunts effectively down the first-base line, watch out.
“I think he has another step to take,” Allen said. “He does a really good job to the left side, but he’s got another step to take in working the right side a little more. I would put him up there with anyone just with the bunts he’s gotten down with infielders in his face and then being safe – it’s impressive.”
Hamilton is hitting the ball on the ground 56.4% of the time this season but surprised everyone in Friday’s 5-4, 10-inning win over the Houston Astros when he slashed a 343-foot, opposite-field home run just over the 19-foot wall of the Crawford Boxes in left.
The ball had a .140 expected batting average when it left the bat, and Daikin Park is the only one of 30 ballparks in the majors it would have left. It was just the fourth extra-base hit of the season for Hamilton, who’s slugging just .276 overall.
But just like the Brewers aren’t a team built on power, Hamilton doesn’t need to be swinging for the fences to be an effective player.
Just keep dropping down the bunts, slapping the ball on the ground and let the legs do the work.
“The kid’s impressive,” Murphy said. “His baserunning, his ability to bunt. He’s a work in progress because this hasn’t been his game necessarily to this extent, and he’s taken to it. He’s played good defense.
“He’s been a big part of this whole thing.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers’ David Hamilton letting legs do the work as he piles up bunt hits
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
